Astros Rally Past Red Sox, 5-4: 2017 ALDS Recap

Alex Bregman hit a game-tying home run off Chris Sale and Houston scored two late runs against Craig Kimbrel, as the Astros beat the Red Sox, 5-4, in Boston on Monday afternoon and clinched the 2017 American League Division Series, three games to one.

With the victory, A.L. West champ Houston advanced to the best-of-seven American League Championship Series -- the franchise's first LCS since beating the Cardinals for the National League title in 2005. They'll face the winner of the Indians-Yankees series, currently led by Cleveland, 2-1, starting Friday.

The Astros led 2-1 in the fifth inning on Monday when Red Sox rookie Andrew Benintendi hit a two-run homer off Justin Verlander, a longtime starter making his first-ever career relief appearance behind Charlie Morton.

A.L. East champ Boston held the 3-2 lead through the seventh inning as Sale, an American League Cy Young candidate, mowed down Astros until Bregman led off the eighth with a towering drive over the Green Monster in left field to tie the game.

Sale registered two more outs sandwiched around an Evan Gattis single before he was relieved by Kimbrel. The normally unhittable Red Sox closer walked George Springer and then allowed an opposite-field, RBI single to Josh Reddick to give Houston the lead for good.

The Astros tacked on an insurance run in the ninth inning when Carlos Beltran doubled off Kimbrel to plate Marwin Gonzalez. Houston needed it when Boston rookie Rafael Devers hit an inside-the-park homer off Ken Giles in the bottom of the inning. However, the Astros closer settled down to notch the last three outs and send the Fenway Park crowd home unhappy.